Colonial Farm Credit Donates $1.5 Million to Rural Youth Scholarships

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Significant donation by agricultural lender allows the Colonial Agricultural Educational Foundation to increase the scholarship amounts available for rural youth to three $5,000 scholarships, three $3,000 scholarships, three $2,000 scholarships, and seventy-six $1,500 scholarships.

Photo caption - (l to r) Gene Marker, a farmer from Lunenburg county and president of the board of the Colonial Agricultural Educational Foundation and Dixie Dalton, Foundation vice-president and prof

There are so many bright, motivated students in our rural areas, and these scholarships can be a tremendous help to them in furthering their education.

Mechanicsville, VA (PRWEB)May 05, 2014

Colonial Farm Credit has donated $1.5 million to the Colonial Agricultural Educational Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial support for students in rural areas seeking to extend their education. The Foundation was started in 1990 and since that time has provided over $1.7 million in funding for students in Virginia and Maryland to attend college or trade school.

“We are thrilled to be able to contribute this money to the Foundation,” said Greg Farmer, president and CEO of Colonial Farm Credit. “We had an excellent income year and were in a position to share some of that income with both our customers in the form of a $6.7 million patronage refund and through this donation to the Foundation. Our board is very interested in assisting young people, especially in rural areas and those pursuing agriculture or forestry as a career.”

Gene Marker, president of the Foundation board and a farmer from Lunenburg County, said “The Foundation is pleased and overwhelmed to receive this donation. It allows us to increase the size of our existing scholarships to help keep up with the inflation in education costs.”

“There are so many bright, motivated students in our rural areas, and these scholarships can be a tremendous help to them in furthering their education,” noted Dr. Dixie Watts Dalton, vice-president of the Foundation and the professor and program director of agribusiness at Southside Virginia Community College. “The number of scholarships that the Foundation provides is especially noteworthy.”

The Foundation will award 85 scholarships annually consisting of three $5,000 scholarships, three $3,000 scholarships, three $2,000 scholarships, and seventy-six $1,500 scholarships. Students in Colonial Farm Credit’s operating area (generally eastern Virginia and southern Maryland) are eligible to apply for these scholarships. The complete eligibility requirements can be found at http://www.colonialfarmcredit.com/scholarships.html. The application process begins November 2014 and applications will be accepted online.

ABOUT COLONIAL FARM CREDIT
Colonial Farm Credit is a customer-owned financial cooperative and member of the nationwide Farm Credit System, which loans funds and provides financing expertise to farmers, agribusinesses and rural homeowners for land, homes, and farm operating purposes. The cooperative has over 4,625 members and $600 million in loans outstanding, with twelve offices serving eastern Virginia and southern Maryland. The complete Colonial Farm Credit 2013 annual report is available at http://www.colonialfarmcredit.com.